


Formula Family

by theangelofdarkness



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Adopted Children, Family Drama, Family Feels, Gay dads, M/M, Torro Rosso kids, red bull kids!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-18
Updated: 2015-08-25
Packaged: 2018-03-13 15:38:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3387092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theangelofdarkness/pseuds/theangelofdarkness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Horner Newey household always has something going on. Be it a family event or trying their best to keep their kids under control there's never a dull moment.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hide and Seek.

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm back with another story that has not left me alone! I wrote a two shot featuring the Red Bull and Torro Rosso kids in my Advent calender story. And I couldn't resist writing them again because they are too adorable to write! As I say I hope you'll like it. :)

Adrian sighed as he threw down his designing pencil and stood up away from the bored with his latest creation on it. He rubbed his eyes. This was proving to be a little complicated. But it was nothing he couldn’t handle. He’d figure it out eventually. Adrian sighed and thought that a cup of tea might just be the thing right now. He was glad the house was pretty quiet right now so he could work effectively in his office. The room itself was spacious and white with a large window looking out into the garden. On the wall were colourful concept sketches of some of Adrian’s award winning work. To add a touch of colour to the otherwise sterile walls. The room itself was dominated by his design desk and chair. The room was methodical and no one other that Christian was allowed in it. The silence hung in the air as Adrian looked at the design again. Then his stomach dropped. The house was quiet. No kids screaming. No arguments over little things such as who was playing what part in their imaginary game or what episode of Scooby Doo they were going to watch. Nothing. He’d been left in charge of the kids at home while Christian was out running some errands for the day. Adrian began to worry. Silence meant one thing. They were planning something. He decided to take a break and left his designing room with his tea mug in hand. Sighing he walked down the flight of stairs and into the kitchen, not seeing a child the entire time. However he stopped at the doorway of the kitchen. He was greeted by a rather confusing scene. Pots and pans were strewn out over the floor and the rather large bag of pasta had also been taken out from its usual place. Adrian held his breath. They were planning something! Silently he stepped into the kitchen, aware to not alert any hiding kids to his presence. He walked over to the largest cupboard in the kitchen where the pans and pasta was kept. The door was very slightly open allowing a little light into the small space. Gingerly he opened the door fully and came face to face with a very shocked looking Danni.

“Danni?” Adrian was about to ask why in the world the six year old boy was hiding in the cupboard when Antti ran into the kitchen and with a triumphant shout rejoiced.

“Found you Danni!” The nine year old Antti shouted and it all clicked into place. The kids were playing hide and seek.

                Danni pouted at this announcement and was upset to realise he was the first to be found. He knew what that meant and he began to formulate excuses as to why he shouldn’t be on. “You wouldn’t have found me if Daddy hadn’t opened the door.” Danni started.

“I would have!” Antti argued. “You left pots and pans on the floor Danni.” He pointed to the mess Danni made trying to find his hiding place. “You’re on first next time.” Danni seemed less than convinced.

“I’m not!” He argued.

“You are!” Antti rebutted.

“Are not!”

“Are so!”

 “Not!”

“So!”

“How about I seek you guys next time.” Adrian chimed in to stop the arguments. Besides a little break for his work to refresh his mind was probably a good thing. The two boys weighted up the option and decided it was the best deal. Once Danni had gotten out of the cupboard the two boys began to seek around the kitchen for any one else. Their search was fruitless so the three of them left the room. “I was counting in the living room and no one was in there.” Antti admitted. He did however stop at the cupboard under the stairs and ripped the door open.

“Found you.” Antti grinned as Seb shuffled out of the cupboard. Adrian chuckled at the boy’s grumpy face.

“How did you find me so quickly? You were peeking weren’t you?” The eight year old Seb argued and Adrian wondered if it was standard for the kids to argue about being found. Antti sighed dramatically.

“Seb the cupboard under the stairs is the perfect hiding place. I check it every time. EVERYONE does.” Adrian made a mental note to check there when he was seeking.

“It’s not the best hiding place. It’s dark in there. I hate the dark.” Danni admitted. The two boys looked at Danni. “What it is. And there are spiders. Britta will agree with me. Spiders are scary!” The two boys remained silent for a moment or two.

“Okay time to find the others!” Antti charged up the stairs with Seb, Danni and Adrian racing after him.

* * *

 

                Antti snuck into the bathroom and for a moment Adrian thought he was being mad. From what he could see there was nowhere good to hide in the bathroom. Besides behind the door. He was sure Antti would write the room off in a second. He followed him in with Danni and Seb. The room itself was rather large with a huge bath and separate shower area. There was a small box in the corner filled with toys for bath time for the kids. Adrian looked around and thought no one was in there. Seb seemed to have a similar idea.

“Antti there’s no one in here. Come on we’re wasting time!” Seb complained. He was shushed for his comments by Antti. Antti pointed to the shower cubical. The glass was frosted so you couldn’t see into it. But he made it clear he thought there was someone in there. Slowly so as to not alert the person in the shower he creped over to the door. And once again opened it very quickly.

 He grinned and proudly announced “found you!” As ten year old Heikki gave a groan and came out of the shower. He appeared to be in a bad mood till he saw Danni and Seb they me he perked up knowing he wasn’t going to be seeking next round.

“I’m impressed. I wouldn’t think to hide there.” Adrian told Heikki. Heikki grinned. Glad of the praise he was getting.

“Hey, my hiding place was good as well!” Seb argued.

“Cupboard under the stars.” Antti informed Heikki.

“EVERYONE hides there Seb. That’s not too creative.” Seb was about to argue his point when Adrian cut in. Determined to stop this before it escalated into a shouting match.

“Come on Heikki. We only have to find another four people now.” Adrian spoke. The kids seemed to snap back into the game and decided to search the next room. Dan and Jev’s room. Antti put a finger to his lips to show he wanted silence. Danni mimicked the action so he would keep quiet. Antti turned the doorknob and the kids burst into the room.

* * *

 

                Dan and Jev’s room was rather large but a little messy. Their toy cupboard was open as well as their wardrobe for their clothes. There were several cuddly toys over the floor and a lot of toy cars that the two seemed to play with a lot. The room was a dark blue with various pieces of artwork on it. Seven year old Dan’s drawings were always a little more abstract and out there. While seven year old Jev seemed to be the more artsy one out of the two of them. But the pictures made the room look lively. Finally Adrian’s eyes settled on the bunk bed the two had and he nearly burst out laughing. He could see a rather large lump on the bottom bunk below the covers. But the cover was shaking from silent laughter. That or just a fidgety person was under there. Antti ran across the room and ripped the covers back. “Found you Dan!” Antti admitted. Dan looked up at him. Grinning and laughing out loud now.

“I’m surprised it took you so long.” He admitted through chuckles.  He shuffled out from his bunk. Taking his toy honey badger with him.

“I was busy finding the others. And they argued a lot about being found.” Antti admitted. Heikki wondered over to the top bunk.

“And where Dan is.” Heikki ripped off the covers on the top bunk to reveal Jev. “Jev is never far away.” Jev pouted.

“Found you Jev!” Antti grinned. This was going really well. He’d found almost everyone.

“Dan I’m never hiding with you again. You always give us away with your laughing.” Jev admitted as he climbed down the ladder from his bunk. Luckily Adrian though he wasn’t going to argue that it was technically Heikki not Antti who found him.

“Well. That’s almost everyone.” Adrian looked around the room. “Just Tommi and Britta to find now.”

“And I think I know where Tommi is!” Antti grinned before charging out of the room. The others followed. Adrian marvelled at just how much energy the kids had before following them into Tommi’s room.

* * *

 

                Eleven year old Tommi’s room was a lot neater that Dan and Jev’s but also was smaller. His room was green with a large bed, a desk in the corner and the wall plastered with various hockey players he idolised. One shelf in his bookcase was filled with trophies and medals from the ice hockey competitions he’d entered. Antti ignored looking under the bed, instead he went immediately over to the wardrobe. Adrian entered the room just as he threw open the doors with little effort and grinned.

“Found you Tommi!” Antti grinned as Tommi emerged from the wardrobe.

“Lucky guess Antti.” Tommi admitted.

“It wasn’t a lucky guess. You always hide in the wardrobe.” Antti argued.

“I’m bigger than all of you. It’ not like I can hide in a cupboard like Danni.” He responded as Danni gasped.

“You knew?” Danni asked.

“Danni I could hear the pans clatter as I ran upstairs. EVERYONE knew where you were hiding.” Tommi told the young boy. Danni began to sulk a bit.

“Not everyone.”

“So that only leaves Britta to find!” Adrian shouted. Interrupting the argument the two boys were having. Antti spun round to face Seb.

“Sebby you know Britta well. If she was hiding away from us where would she go?” Antti asked. Sebastian thought.

“If she’s not in the bathroom and she’s not in the front room she’d hide in her room somewhere.” Seb told the boys.

“To Britta’s room then!” Antti announced as the seven boys charged out of the room towards her room. Adrian chased after them as they opened the door.

* * *

 

                Ten year old Britta’s room was the same size as Tommi’s room as she like Tommi  didn’t share her room with anyone else. Her room was purple with a large white chest of draws, a white bookcase, white desk and a white bed next to the wall. Her room was significantly tidier than Dan and Jev’s as well. There were several pieces of paper on the floor as well as colouring pencils and a pen as well. Britta had decorated her walls with some of the stories she had written over the years. The boys began to quickly and methodically check the room. But as far as Adrian could tell there was no one in here. Antti opened up her wardrobe to find no one in there. Heikki lifted up the bed covers and found nothing. He even checked quickly under the bed. But there were boxes under there.

“She’s not in here.” Danni complained as he looked at the notebooks in the bookcase.

“Don’t mess with those!” Seb told him as he reached out to see what was in them. “She gets grumpy if you mess with them.”

“Britta must be hiding in your room Seb and Danni.” Antti added. Everyone seemed to agree. Adrian was about to leave the room as well when he looked at the bed again. He squinted and that’s when he saw the end on some blonde hair poking out from under the bed at the end. Adrian could see this going on forever otherwise so he wandered over to the bed. He crouched down and saw there were boxes in the way.

“I looked under there.” Heikki admitted. Adrian moved one of the boxes out of the way and came face to face with the last child.

“Found you Britta.” He grinned as he sat up and she came crawling out from under the bed. Everyone looked surprised to see she had fooled them into thinking she wasn’t in the room.

“I found you all!” Antti cheered. Before adding. “No thanks to you Heikki. Mr I-checked-under-the-bed-and-she-isn’t-there.”

“But I checked!” Heikki argued.

“Not as well as you thought.” Britta laughed at Heikki’s expression. He seemed to be shock that he missed her. “Who’s counting now?” She asked.

“I am.” Adrian told her. “What am I counting to?” He asked.

“You count in the living room to twenty.” Antti explained.

* * *

 

                Adrian tried to remain as silent as possible. He’d heard the kids charging round the house but no one had thought to look in the shower cubical yet. From what he could tell Britta had found everyone else but him so far. So he remained quiet. The house fell silent and Adrian swore he could hear whispering. Or perhaps he was being paranoid. This game had a way of doing that to you. He’d spent the last hour playing hide and seek with the kids. And it was getting to the point where he was convinced he could hear something even when there was nothing there. A shadow began to move outside the cubical and Adrian braced himself to be revealed. The door opened but it was not who he was expecting. The eight kids were around but it was Christian who had opened the door. Adrian was rather embarrassed by this and his cheeks developed a pink tinge to them.

“Adrian darling why are you hiding in the shower?” Christian asked.


	2. Writers Block

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge huge thank you to everyone who read and added kudos to this work. It means a lot. And once again a huge thank you to the fabulous turva_auto for your comments. I am so sorry I've been neglecting this story but It's been mad as anything at the moment in my uni life. I also spent some time re editing the first chapter to include ages and also Tommi as well (You mentioned it turva_auto and I couldn't resist!) For those of you who don't want to re-read the first chapter I'll tell you the ages here. Tommi- 11, Heikki- 10, Britta- 10, Antti- 9, Seb- 8, Dan- 7, Jev- 7, Danni- 6. This chapter was the one that got me over the serious bout of writers block I was having with this story. I've now got a few chapters partially written and some ideas. And this stories going to be getting a lot of attention now from me. So enough babbling on from me. I hope you enjoy the chapter! :D

The Horner Newey household was busy on the weekend normally and this weekend was no different to usual. Saturday morning was devoted to sports at the local community sport centre. Seb, Dan, Jev and Danni had karting practice. Antti had football while Tommi and Heikki had ice hockey practice. So despite the early hour the two found themselves up and preparing a hearty breakfast of pancakes for the kids and themselves.

“All the kids are up. But I have no idea how long it will be before they come down.” Christian admitted as he walked into the kitchen and gave Adrian a kiss on the cheek. “By the way good morning darling.” Christian told Adrian as he started making the first pancake. It wasn’t long though before the first child padded into the kitchen. “Good morning Britta.” Christian greeted her. “We’ve got pancakes for breakfast this morning. What do you want on yours?” He asked. But Britta completely blanked him. Instead she put her notebook and pen on the dining table and took a seat. Silently she then began to use her hands to smack the side of her head. A pained look of confusion on her face. Christian looked at Adrian who had the same horrified expression on his face. Christian ran over to Britta. “Britta! Britta sweetheart!” Christian ceased her wrists in his hands to stop her from hitting herself. She looked at him as he crouched next to her. “Britta whatever the problem is honey hitting yourself won’t help the problem. Come on. Tell me what’s wrong sweetheart.”

“I can’t think.” She replied. Screwing her face up in concentration. She seemed to be very upset about this. “I can’t think what to write about for my new story. I’ve got no ideas.” She explained. Christian looked over at Adrian. He gave a sympathetic look at Britta. Writer’s blocks were no fun. But for a creative kid like Britta it would be horrid to not be able to write. It was her passion and her hobby. “The idea is there I think. But I just can’t get the words out onto paper for it.” Britta hit her head on the table.

                “Still no new ideas then Britta?” Seb asked as he walked into the kitchen before taking his seat at the table next to her. She still had her head on the table and Christian was reluctant to let go of her wrists in case she just went back to hitting herself.

“No.” She replied. The response was muffled a lot by the table.

“I’m sure you’ll come up with something Britta. You’re a creative girl and your stories are always so amazing.” Christian told her. Hoping his confidence would spread to her. It seemed however to have the opposite effect on her though as she let out a frustrated groan instead. Christian looked over at Adrian for some help. He was a much more creative person than he was and this was probably something he was better equipped to deal with. Adrian gave Christian a nod to come and make the pancakes instead while he dealt with Britta. Christian let go of Britta’s wrists and swapped places with Adrian as the first pancake was ready. “Seb what do you want on it?” Christian asked the boy. Deciding Britta needed a moment before she got her pancake.

“Sugar and lemon please.” Seb asked. Christian nodded and started seasoning the pancake. Meanwhile Adrian had made his way over to Britta who still had her head on the table. He was a lot more sympathetic about her situation. Rubbing soothing circles into her back as a thought popped into his mind.

“Hey the weather looks like it’ll be great today kiddo. How about after the sports morning we go for a family picnic at Stammer park for lunch?” Adrian suggested as Danni walked into the kitchen. The mention of a park got Danni excited.

“A park! Can I go on the swings?” Danni asked as he took his seat at the table. Adrian chuckled at Danni’s suggestion.

“It’s not that kind of park buddy.” Adrian said. Danni began to pout but Adrian carried on. “It’s a park with a huge field and a magic wood.” Britta seemed to be interested in the wood as she perked up. Looking at Adrian to see if he was telling the truth.

“A magic wood?” Seb repeated in amazement. A chunk of pancake halfway to his mouth.

“Yes. A real magic wood. So what do you think? Shall we have a picnic in the magic wood?” Adrian asked Britta.

“That sounds amazing.” She grinned. Perhaps she could ask the magic creatures for an idea for a new story. Adrian smiled at her.

“Brilliant. I’ll sort the picnic out then.” He stood up and left the kids to puzzle over the wood they were going to. As Adrian came back over to help with breakfast Christian gave him a look.

“What are you planning?” Christian whispered to Adrian.

“You’ll see. By the end of the day Britta will be writing again like there was no issue.” Adrian was confident with that prediction.

* * *

 

                The sports centre was as busy as ever. Adrian and Christian dropped the kids at their respective sports activities and then went to sit in the café with a lot of the other parents and Britta as well. As it was only practice sessions for the respective events Adrian and Christian saw nothing wrong with sitting up in the café and enjoying a cup of coffee. Normally on match or race days they sat watching the respective event. The hour also gave them an opportunity to focus on Britta, since she didn’t partake in a sport like the boys. They’d given her the opportunity to explore and see if there was a sport she enjoyed. But apart from being taught to swim she didn’t find one she enjoyed as much as writing. So often the hour was used to talk to her and see what she was up to. Britta was uncharacteristically quiet for once though. Today she just sat there, focusing on the blank page in front of her.

“Still stuck for ideas?” Christian asked her. She just focused on the page.

“I’ve got no idea what to write.” Britt admitted before once again putting her head on the table.

“Well looking at a blank page can’t help.” Christian took her flowery notebook and pen from her. “Maybe we could come up with a starting sentence for you so the page won’t be blank.” Christian suggested as he looked at the page. He looked up again to see two horrified faces looking back at him. “What?” he questioned. All he suggested was writing in her notebook. But the looks he was getting from both Adrian and Britta it was as if he suggested burning the book.

“Please don’t dad!” Britta begged.

“Christian darling. When you see me struggling with how to start a design you don’t immediately try to draw on my paper do you.” Adrian tried to get him to understand.

“I’ve been tempted to.” Christian admitted and Adrian winced at his comment.

“Don’t. Please don’t. You may think your helping but I can promise you you’re in fact making things much worse for us.” Adrian explained. Taking the notebook and pen off of Christian and putting it back in front of Britta. The page still unmarked. “Listen sweetheart. I’m telling you now you will get an idea as soon as we go to the magic wood. You’ll see.”

“But what if I don’t.” Britta shoulders sagged in defeat. Christian and Adrian shared a look. It was unlike Britta to give in so easily. “What if my imagination is gone completely and I never write another word again.”

“I highly doubt that.” Adrian gave her some encouragement.

“But what if that happens.” Britta repeated.

“There’s other hobbies out there?” Christian suggested. Adrian just gave him a look that suggested he be quiet for a moment or so.

“Then we will cross that bridge when we come to it. But I’m positive you will have an idea in the magic wood.” Adrian was not taking no for an answer. “Now why don’t you work on your maths homework instead of worrying about your writing? I can always give you a hand if you need it.” Britta agreed and pulled out the maths work the teacher had set them for over the weekend.

* * *

 

                The weather was the brilliant sunshine the weatherman had promised meaning the family could enjoy their picnic in Stammer Park. There was a green field next to the woods where the family spread out the picnic blanket and enjoyed their lunch. The boys seemed particularly hungry after their mammoth morning of sport.

“Antti, Heikki. Why don’t you give chewing your food a go?” Christian asked the boys who he swore were just swallowing sandwiches whole. The words seemed to have some effect on them and they began to actually chew their food. Danni and Jev appeared to be in their own world talking about the practice today, while Tommi was telling Seb about his goal in hockey.

“And bam. That’s when I scored the goal.” Tommi finished telling his story to Seb.

“That’s great Tommi. I got the fastest lap in our practice session today.” Seb puffed out his chest in pride.

“Fernando said you only got fastest lap because you didn’t respect he track limits.” Dan told Seb.

“Fernando doesn’t know what he’s talking about!”

“He does!”

“Does not.”

“Does too.”

“Doesn’t!”

“Does!”

“Okay boys! Let’s stop that.” Adrian cut across the does not does too argument that had been steadily rising in volume. During most of the picnic Britta had remained quiet. Looking behind her shoulder at the woods. “Have you almost finished eating Britta?” Adrian asked. The blonde nodded her head at her father. “Well as soon as the boys are done we’ll go and check out the magic wood shall we.” The family soon finished eating and Adrian took the kids towards the woods leaving Christian to tidy up the empty Tupperware boxes from lunch. “Get ready to see Britta write again.” Adrian told Christian before he left.

“I hope you’re right darling.” Christian replied as they boys and Britta left.

* * *

 

                Adrian led the kids a little way into the wood. The sunlight streamed through the gaps in the leaves bathing the leave covered ground in a kind of enchanted sunlight. The trees had recently burst into life as green leaves grew up in the sunlight. A blossom tree had begun the shed its petals in the slow wind. They danced in the breeze in the most intricate way that mesmerised everyone. The sounds of tweeting birds added to the beautiful scene in front of them.

“What’s so magic about the place then?” Jev asked Adrian.

“It’s magic because it’s the home to fairies of Stammer wood.” Adrian admitted. The boys looked confused and Heikki even gave a slight snort of laughter. But the look he got from Adrian silenced him. Britta ignored the snort from Heikki and began to study the scenery in front of her. It looked like the kind of place fairies could live. “Can’t you see the village in front of you Jev? The magical fairy village.” Jev looked confused at the scene in front of him. It was a wood! However Adrian could see Britta closing her eyes in concentration. They stayed shut for a few moments before Danni spoke up.

“I can’t see anything. Especially not the fairies.” He complained.

“That’s because you’re not looking well enough Danni.” Britta spoke up next to him as she opened her eyes. She was convinced this is where the fairies lived.

“They live here. Shouldn’t there be doors on the trees or something?” He asked her. She thought for a second.

“They’re hiding them with magic.” She told him. An idea forming in her head. Adrian smiled as he could see her imagination working again.

“Why would they do that?” Seb asked her.

“They don’t have a choice.” She spoke up.

“Why’s that?” Adrian asked. Wondering where her mind was going.

“Because there are pixies to the north of the village. And they don’t like the fairies. They want to destroy the fairies.” She explained and Danni gasped.

“Why do they want to do that?” Brita thought back to breakfast that morning. She was going to wish for an idea here in the magic wood. That gave her an idea.

“Because they’re jealous they don’t get to grant the kids wishes who come to Stammer wood. They think if they get rid of the fairies they can grant the wishes!” The boys stood transfixed as Britta began to explain her idea. Adrian could see the glee on her face as she thought about what would happen in this world. The wood had proven to be her inspiration. “I’ve got to write this down!” She grinned and ran off back towards the picnic blanket where Christian was.

* * *

 

                Christian was surprised to see Britta re appear from the woods so soon. But she had the biggest grin on her face. She slowed down as she reached the picnic blanket.

“And what have you lot been up to then?” He asked Britta as she sat down. Reaching across for her flowery notebook and pen.

“Dad showed us the village where the fairies live. But they’re in hiding. The pixies from the North want to destroy them so they can grant all the kids wishes who come to Stammer wood.” She explained as she opened up her book. Getting ready to jot down her initial ideas and a few of the characters as well who had popped into her head.

“Really. And I’m guessing your writing about them now then.” Christian asked. She nodded her head in response. Christian was glad to see she was over her writers block. Pretty soon the others came out of the woods as well. The boys well invested in a game of tag. Adrian made his way over to Christian.

“It’s a great sight to see isn’t it?” Christian whispered to Adrian as he sat down next to him on the blanket. Looking over at Britta who was ignoring everything around her right now as she wrote away in her notepad.

“See I told you I could get her to write again like there was no issue.” Adrian whispered to Christian. A grin on his face.

“I’m glad you were right about that.” Christian smiled.


	3. Pillow Fort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has read and added kudos to the story. You are all amazing. But a special huge thanks is going out to the super awesome turva_auto for her amazing comment. Thanks for the inspiration for some future chapters sweetie! This chapter was supposed to go up sooner but thanks to an unscheduled trip into hospital I had to delay it by a day or so. Still enough babbling on from me. I hope you enjoy the chapter!

It was late Friday afternoon when Adrian returned from work. “Hello darling. Hello kids!” Adrian got no response from the kids. But Christian did give him a shout.

“I’m in the kitchen darling.” Adrian put his briefcase away in the cupboard before he went off in search of Christian. He found him in the kitchen making some dough. “Hello darling. Did you have a good day at work?” Christian asked.

“It was great. We made some progress on the designs today.” Adrian commented before giving Christian a deep kiss on the lips. “And what are you up to?” He asked.

“I thought we might all like some pizza for tonight. So I’m making some fresh bases since I had the time this afternoon.” Christian admitted.

“Sounds brilliant! I didn’t hear a peep out of the kids. Do you have any idea where they are?” Adrian asked. Christian smiled before sending a puff of flour towards Adrian. He laughed as the white flour coated his face.

“They said something about making a den in the lounge. Why don’t you go and look. You might want to get rid of the flour first though.” Christian giggled.

“I will. Thank you very much darling.” Adrian gave Christian a floury kiss on the cheek before he left in search of the kids. Not before he got rid of the remaining flour on his face though.

* * *

 

 It didn’t take him long to find them as he walked into the lounge. It had been transformed. The room now resembled one huge pillow fort. Serval blanket sheets were piled up to make a base and there was clear noise coming from inside. A sign was attached to the fort decaling it to be the “F1 paddock. Password required.” Adrian smiled before he spoke. “Kids. Hello.” Sebastian poked his head out of the entrance to the fort.

“Hello dad. How was your day?”

“It was good. Am I okay to come in? He asked.

“What’s the password?” Seb asked.

“I’m your father. Surely I don’t need to know the password. I should be let in.” Adrian argued. But Seb didn’t believe in that argument.

“Sorry you have to know the password to get entry into the paddock.” Seb argued. Adrian thought for a moment. They were kids. The password couldn’t be that difficult. Plus it was the F1 paddock. The password had to be related to Formula 1.

“Schumacher.” He suggested. Knowing just how much Sebastian idolised the man.

“Wrong.”

“Senna then.” Adrian tried another person that Seb idolised.

“Wrong.”

“Prost?” Adrian questioned. Okay now he was stumped.

“Nope. I’ll give you a clue dad. It has nothing to do with Formula 1.” And with that Seb disappeared from view. Adrian groaned. This was going to be impossible.

* * *

 

                Adrian returned to the kitchen where Christian was just starting to prepare the pizza bases with tomato.

“Darling the kids won’t let me play in their pillow fort.” Adrian whined. Christian looked up at the sulking man and snorted with laughter. Adrian looked at him. “What’s so funny?” He asked.

“Oh nothing. Only sometimes I wonder if I have nine children.” Christian admitted.

“I’m not that bad.” Adrian argued.

“Oh you can be.” Christian rebutted. Adrian took a seat at the table. He stayed silent for a moment or two as he watched Christian prepare the pizza bases.

“Darling.” Christian looked up at him. “What do you think the password is?” Adrian asked as Christian gave an exasperated sigh.

“It could be anything. If you want my advice bribing the kids is the best way to get the password out of them.”

“Are you serious!” Adrian replied. Shocked that Christian could come up with a devious plan.

“Yes. I recommend you go for Danni. He’s normally pretty happy to tell you what’s going on.”

* * *

 

Armed with this new found knowledge Adrian once again returned to do battle with the kids. “Danni. How are you?” He asked. There was a little movement inside the fort then Danni popped his head out.

“Hey dad. I had a great day. Guess what. I scored a goal in PE today.” He grinned. Adrian smiled at the boy before getting down to his height.

“That’s great. Well done buddy.” Adrian congratulated him as he pulled a wrapped up sweet out of his pocket. “Come on Danni. You can tell me the password” he whispered. Danni’s eyes alighted on the sweetie. Adrian could practically see him weighing up if the sweet was worth the backlash he would get from the others. Adrian sighed and pulled another sweet out of his pocket. “Two sweeties for the password Danni.” He whispered. Danni seemed more than happy with this deal.

“The password is Rumpelstiltskin.” Danni admitted. Adrian smiled and gave Danni the two sweets as everyone inside the fort groaned.

“That was supposed to be a secret Danni.” Someone told him from inside, though Adrian couldn’t make out who it was who said that.

“Sorry guys.” Danni mumbled as he came inside the fort, Adrian following close behind.

                The fort was well built with several brooms supporting the weight of the ceiling. While there were more than enough blankets and pillows for the whole family to be comfy in there. The fort encompassed the back wall where the TV was on as well. In the corner was a racing track set up. But no one seemed to be playing with it at the moment. The kids appeared to be taking part in various activities. Tommi appeared to be completing the last of his biology homework so he could have a free day tomorrow. Heikki and Antti were having a thumb war in the corner. Right now the score stood three - one in favour of Heikki. Dan and Jev were watching a film on the TV. Adrian instantly recognised the film as Finding Nemo. Dan absolutely loved the film. Seb and Danni were doing some colouring in the corner of the fort. Occasionally glancing up at the film when something interesting happened. And Britta was focused on her notepad. Writing away in it without a care in the world. Adrian loved watching the kids just be themselves.

“Impressive pillow fort guys.” He admitted.

“Do you like it. Tommi designed most of it. But we did all the work putting it up.” Heikki admitted. Adrian looked at his eldest son.

“Looks like you picked up some creative genes.” Adrian said and Tommi laughed closing his book.

“I’ve just finished my homework for the weekend. He admitted before looked to the race track set up in the corner. “Race you dad!” He laughed. Scrabbling for the red car controller.

“You’re on.” Adrian grinned as he picked up a controller.

                Adrian spent  quite a bit of time in the pillow fort in the end. He challenged several of the boys to the racing game before he did some colouring with Seb, Danni, Jev and Dan. The two boys joining as soon as Finding Nemo was over. He listened to Britta’s newest chunk of story which was coming along well. Apparently Nyx the fairy was being held hostage by the Goblin king in Stammer wood. But Nyx wasn’t scared as she knew the other fairies would be along soon. It was getting on for seven o clock when a voice could be heard outside the door. Everyone fell silent.

“Who is it?” Adrian asked.

“It’s Christian darling. Are you going to let me in?” He asked from outside.

“Do you know the password?” Seb asked.

“I don’t sorry Seb. Oh that’s a shame. Since I was going to bring in serval huge cheesy pizzas.” Adrian watched as the kids perked up at the mention of food. “Especially since the cheesy pizzas are topped with lots of pepperoni.”

“The password is Rumpelstiltskin!” Dan shouted out. And the kids groaned.

“Dan! That was supposed to be a secret. We should tape yours and Danni’s mouth up.” Jev told him as Christian entered the fort. The promised pepperoni pizza in his hand on plates.

“It’s pizza Jev! If I hadn’t said anything someone else would have soon.” Dan admitted. Christian smiled at the boy and offered him the first slice of pizza.

“Thank you for letting me know the password Dan.” Christian told him as the family descended on the pizza. The pizza didn’t last long but it went down well. With the family feeling very full after the meal.

“So. How about a film tonight in the fort?” Adrian suggested.

“Toy story 1 followed by Toy Story 2!” Antti suggested. “Then we can watch Toy Story 3 tomorrow!” This seemed to go down well with everyone. The kids ran off to get changed into their pyjamas while Adrian set up the film.

* * *

 

                Adrian awoke as the credits for Toy Story 2 came up on the screen. It took him a while to get his baring’s before he realised where he was. He was asleep in the pillow fort. He looked down to see Christian was asleep peacefully in his arms, while Danni had curled up next to him. He looked around at the fort that was silent with sleeping children. Beside Danni were Jev and Dan.  Jev and Dan had curled up happily together on a mountain of pillows with Dan’s honey badger in the middle being hugged by the two of them. Beside them were Tommi, Heikki and Antti, sprawled out together with a blanket currently being hogged by Heikki. Heikki and Antti were using Tommi as a pillow. Not that the sleeping boy minded as he had an arm thrown around each of them in a hug. Finally next to Christian was Britta and Seb curled up in a blanket. Britta was giving her younger brother a hug while Seb was cuddled into her. Adrian gave a sleepy smiled as he looked around at his family. Seb stirred a little but a squeeze from Britta and the boy was still once again. Christian stirred in Adrian’s arms before waking up. He sat up and rubbed his eyes giving a yawn as he tried to focus on here he was. As soon as he realised Adrian made a shushing gesture.

“Bed time for us I think.” He whispered to Christian. He then looked around to make sure the kids were still asleep.

“Good idea.” Christian whispered back as he looked around at the kids. A pride in his eyes. “They’re so cute when they’re asleep and not causing trouble.” Christian admitted.

“It’s too much trouble to wake them all up. Just let them sleep here.” Adrian whispered. Christian agreed. Adrian switched off the television while Christian threw a blanket over Jev and Dan so they wouldn’t get cold. He threw a blanket over Danni and retrieved his teddy from the corner. He put it in Danni’s arms and the boy immediately snuggled into the bear. He also put another blanket over Antti and Tommi so they didn’t have to fight Heikki the cover hog for some more blanket in the night. Adrian blew a kiss to the kids as he left to go upstairs and get ready for bed.

“Night kids. I love you.” Christian blew each of his children a kiss before he left the fort. Leaving eight sleeping children inside.


	4. Breakfast Escapades

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge thank you to everyone who has read and added kudos to the story. It means a lot guys. And a special thanks goes out to the amazing turva_auto and to the awesome siriuslywinchester for your comments. They are amazing guys. This is a quick chapter as I've got a ton of Uni work due in the next few days. Plus there are a few bigger chapters in the works as well. Anyway enough blabbering on from me. Enjoy the next chapter guys :D

Sunday mornings in the Horner-Newey household were for lie ins. Specifically for the adults. The kids knew if they were up before their Dad’s they were allowed to watch cartoons or play games together as long as they kept the noise down. They weren’t to disturb the two adults unless it was something serious. This Sunday was no different to usual. Christian and Adrian woke up naturally without the alarm blaring at them to get up, a rare treat for the two of them. And as the kids were being very quiet downstairs they had the opportunity to enjoy some much needed quiet time together. The room was rather large with pastel blue walls and a cream carpet. There were two bedside tables in white as well as a white wardrobe and a white chest of draws in the corner. Dominating the space in the room though was the large spacious double bed that Christian and Adrian were currently lounging in. The crisp white duvet pulled up to keep out the morning chill.

“Good morning darling.” Adrian gave Christian a chaste kiss on the lips as he began to wake up. Christian gave his partner a lazy smile before yawning and stretching a little.

“Good morning to you to.” Christian smiled. The two were just about to talk through the days plans when their tranquil morning was ruined by the fire alarm screeching into life. Christian jumped up with a start, forgetting just how tired he was, and slipped his slippers on. “Adrian the house!” He shouted before he threw open the bedroom door and ran down the stairs shouting “Kids! Kids get up and out of the house!” He shouted. He knew the kids would most likely be in the lounge or already on their way outside. He still checked in every room on the way down to find there were no kids in them. Adrian following behind in much the same fashion. One he checked all the rooms he flew down the stairs to find Antti at the bottom. Waving a cloth under the smoke alarm. The alarm switched itself off and Christian stared at Antti as Adrian fell into step behind him.

“You can both go back to bed. Everything is under control.” The nine year old told him. Christian was suspicious though.

“Antti sweetheart what are you all up to” he asked.

“Nothing.” That was when there was a huge smash in the kitchen. Christian and Adrian looked at one another. “Absolutely nothing.” Antti looked nervous. The two adults didn’t believe him and entered the kitchen.

* * *

 

                The kitchen was normally very priestly kept. The walls were a welcoming soft yellow that carried on through the large kitchen diner. The room was light mostly thanks to the French doors at the end of the room allowing in a lot of natural light. The cupboards were a lovely cream colour with a nice black worktop to the top of them while the floor was black tiles. There was a large fridge freezer, a cooker, a washing machine and a dishwasher in there as well. Towards the other end of the kitchen was a breakfast bar and the dining table the family sat around at dinner time. Christian was proud of how clean his kitchen normally was. But right now it was a mess. As Adrian and Christian walked in the kids had frozen mid task. Christian’s mouth fell open as he surveyed the mess in his beautiful kitchen. His kitchen was a complete mess! Adrian looked at the ground and saw what had made the smashing sound. Danni had managed to drop the milk jug on the floor and as a result the milk was oozing out all over the floor.

“What’s going on children?” Adrian asked. It appeared Christian was still lost for words.

“Danni dropped the milk jug on the floor after he promised me he could do it.” Seb pointed to the mess the six year old had made. Adrian reacted by moving forward and picking Danni up to stop him getting chunks of the glass in his feet. Danni just looked utterly sad at what had happened.

“I just wanted to do something.” Danni sniffed as he hugged his face into Adrian’s shoulder. Not wanting the others to see how upset he was.

“Help with what?” Christian asked finally. He was tempted to add on ‘making a mess in my pristine kitchen’ but he decided against it. Still with his eyes fixed on the mess. He tore his eyes away and looked towards Tommi, Britta and Heikki for an explanation.

“Well we wanted to make you breakfast in bed.” Tommi explained.

“You wanted to what?” Christian faltered.

“We wanted to make you breakfast in bed because we loved you. But it kind of went wrong.” Britta looked around at the disaster her and her brothers had caused. She had to admit it probably wasn’t the best idea they had come up with.

“How did it go wrong?” Adrian asked. He wasn’t sure Christian wanted to hear but he was genuinely curious.

“Well…Heikki and Antti we’re making the toast.” Tommi explained. Pointing to the boys responsible.

“But we kind of burnt it.” Heikki held up the charred piece of blackened toast they had been cooking prior to the alarm.

“And that set the smoke alarm off.” Antti explained. “Not that the scrambled eggs to go with the toast went any better.” He indicted to some kind of congealed egg mess in a pan on the cooker. There even appeared to be chunks of egg shell in it. Tommi looked rather guilty about the mess in question.

“That was my fault.” He admitted. “I’m bad at making scrambled eggs. But I’m the oldest so I thought I should handle the real cooking.” Adrian couldn’t fault his logic there. Only his sons cooking ability.

“Danni and Seb were going to bring you a bowl of your favourite cereal.” Britta carried on explaining. “But you can see how that ended.” She directed her attention to the puddle of milk on the floor.

“It wouldn’t have happened if I was carrying it.” Seb muttered.

“You got to pour the cereal! I wanted to do something.” Danni argued.

“Now boys. There’s no use crying over spilt milk.” Adrian chuckled. A look from Christian told him as far as he was concerned this was no joking matter. “Sorry darling.” He mumbled as he went back to hugging Danni.

“Dan and Jev were making coffee for you.” Tommi carried on from where Britta left off and pointed to the boys.

“But we kind of did it wrong and the coffee went everywhere.” Jev said. Christian gasped as he saw the mess the two made. The brown puddle of coffee was dripping down his beautiful cream cupboards! Making a complete mess! The coffee grounds were sticking to the cabinet!  Adrian sighed knowing exactly what the duo had done.

“Did you put a coffee filter in?” He asked the two. They looked blankly at him.

“What’s a coffee filter?” Jev asked confused. Did they need one of those to make fresh coffee?

“I’ll take that as a no then.” Christian murmured.

“And I was making some yogurt with honey for you.” Britta said. Holding up the bowl of yogurt slathered in the sweet honey. Adrian suddenly had a thought.

“Britta sweetheart was that yogurt in the fridge in the garage?”  She nodded. “I was going to use that yogurt in the dinner tonight.” He admitted as her face fell.

“Nice going Britta. No we’re going to have to starve tonight!” Dan replied in an over dramatic fashion. The kids began to look sheepish as Christian scanned over them. They looked at their feet, not wanting to make eye contact with himself or Adrian right now.

                “Are we in trouble?” Danni asked the question on all of the kids mind. Adrian looked towards Christian. The kids watched on as the two had one of their nonverbal conversations with one another. The thought was they could hardly punish the kids for this. After all they were just trying to be nice to the two of them. It wasn’t their fault there kids had bad cooking skills and messed up the kitchen. The two came to a conclusion and turned back to face the kids. They all suddenly looked away. Not wanting to hear the verdict.

“You’re not in trouble.” Adrian admitted and the kids grinned at one another.

“However.” Christian begun. “New house rule. No more making us breakfast in bed without an adult helping you.”

“Deal.” The kids agreed.

“Now come on. Let’s get this mess cleaned up. Then how does pancakes for breakfast sound?” Christian asked. The kids seemed more than happy with this deal.


	5. Weekends Away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back again with the next chapter! A huge thank you to everyone who has read and added kudos to the story. It means a lot guys and you're all amazing. But a special thanks goes out to the super siriuslywinchester for your comment. This chapter has quite a few more characters in it from the F1 world. So I hope you enjoy it. Apologies for the lack of an update but I've been busy with Uni work and another unscheduled trip to hospital (But fingers crossed that will be the last one for a while!) Anyway enough blabbering on from me. Enjoy the next chapter guys :D

“This is officially mad! I swear this event gets bigger every year.” Adrian told Christian as the two sat on their camp chairs, leisurely sipping some red wine in the setting sun. The local karting club the boys belonged to were doing their annual weekend at Silverstone karting. And as ever all the kids from the club attended with their siblings and their parents. As a result the campsite next to the karting track was filled with these families. Adrian and Christian had arrived earlier on that day with the kids. They managed somehow to put up the large family tent for the kids and their little tent before making the site feel more like home. Right now they relaxed into their chairs and watched as the campsite sprung to life with other families arriving. The kids had long left, finding their friends to play with. The campsite was sealed in so there was no chance of the kids getting away. Besides everybody knew everyone here. There was no way they could get into too much trouble.

“The kids have a great time darling. It’s always fun.” Christian replied.

“That it is. It’s just busy that’s all.” Just as Adrian finished speaking Franz Tost burst into the area the family had cornered off for themselves. Franz had worked with Adrian at his job a few years ago and the two became good friends. But Franz was drafted over to run a new department. The two remained good friends though and often bumped into each other at the karting track.

“Hello.” Franz bellowed at the pair as three year old Max toddled behind him.

“Franz.” Adrian got up out of his seat and greeted the man with a hug. “How are you? Where’s Carlos?” Adrian asked as he scooped up Max for a hug. The young boy squealed in delight.

“I’m well. Very good in fact. Carlos spotted Danni, Kevin and Felipe Nasr playing. He went to join in.”

“Glad to hear your well.” Christian got up and gave Franz a hug before stealing Max off of Adrian for a hug as well. He seemed more than happy to get all this attention .

“So Franz. Pick your poison.” Adrian indicated to a rather full looking alcohol selection in the inside the porch section of the tent.

* * *

 

                In the end several adults from various families ended up coming over to Christian and Adrian’s tent for a drink. These included Ron Dennis, Mauritzio Arrivabene, Claire Williams, and Nikki Lauda and James Hunt.

“Well I’m glad you two remembered to bring alcohol. We stopped at a shop before we arrived here for camp. £30 for a tiny bottle of gin. Highway robbery.” Nikki complained as he leisurely sipped his drink.

“I did remind you we had the same issue last year. And we needed to stock up again” James laughed.

“If you remembered why didn’t you get it?” Nikki asked.

“I was busy sorting out the boys karts. And picking up Toto from his girlfriends house.” James raised an eyebrow at Claire. She just took a large sip of wine.

“Susie’s too young to have a boyfriend.” Claire argued. The other parents chuckled around her.

“Oh come on Claire. Toto and Susie would be adorable. I can see her in the wedding dress now.” James teased her.

“La la la la la la la!” Claire covered her ears. “She’s not dating till she’s 21.”

“She is.” James carried on teasing her.

“She’s not.”

“She is.”

“She’s not.”

“Wow. You two are the height of maturity right now.” Ron spoke as he took a hearty chug of his beer. “I think even my kids have grown out of this stage.” The adults around laughed at this comment.

* * *

 

“Lewis is it! Lewis is it!” Sebastian teased him in a sing song voice. Most of the kids had decided to join in playing a huge game of tag which saw Lewis currently on. Lewis didn’t seem to appreciate this and got progressively angrier at the teasing being directed towards him. It would help if Seb hadn’t been saying this for the last few minutes while he ran from one safe base to the next.

“SHUT UP SEB!” Lewis shouted as Jenson sprinted by him to join Seb on the home base.

“Come on Lewis. You’re supposed to be tagging us. But you suck!” Jenson laughed while giving Seb a high five.

“You can’t get us. You can’t get us!” Heikki and Antti danced behind Lewis’ back. He spun round and chased after the two boys giving Jenson and Seb a chance to get to another base. Lewis lunged for Antti but narrowly missed the boy. Lewis groaned and switched targets as he saw his brother Nico sprinting along. Seb had ran onto the home base where his friend Kimi was standing.

“Come on Kimi. You have to admit this is fun. SINCE LEWIS CAN’T CATCH US!” The last bit Seb shouted out directly to Lewis who was chasing around Tommi. Not that he was bothering the Finnish boy. Tommi could easily out run him.

“SHUT UP SEB YOU STUPID HEAD!” The nine year old shouted at him. Seb just laughed.

“It’s fun. But Lewis is so mad at you right now.” Kimi gave his friend a smile. “He’s going to get you back.” Very soon after this comment Toto and Susie joined Seb and Kimi on their base. Holding hands as they ran.

“Toto you are so risking getting cooties.” Seb laughed at the boy. Toto’s face darkened.

“I’m not getting cooties Seb. Not from Susie.” Toto argued.

“You are. Everyone knows girls have cooties. You’re so getting all the cooties from her.” Seb grinned. Toto’s face was now incredibly grumpy as he formulated a plan on how to get Seb back for the comments.

“It’s true Toto.” Kimi mumbled.

“Well you have boy germs that no one wants.” Susie argued. Not that this bothered Seb or Kimi much.

“Seb I warn you. Don’t push me.” Toto suggested, knowing what he was going to do to Seb for the comment.

“Why’s that cootie head?” Seb grinned. That was enough for Toto. He held Seb in a bear hug and pulled him off the home base. “TOTO NO! KIMI HELP ME!” Kimi looked ready to spring to his defence till Susie stepped in front of him. Her hands next to his face. Almost touching.

“Move an inch Kimi and you’re getting all my cooties.” The Scottish girl grinned.

“I can’t. Susie’s holding me hostage.” Kimi replied back. Holding his hands up in defeat and putting them back on the base.

“Smart move Kimi.” Susie smiled, still keeping her hands very close to his face in case he tried to make a break for it.

                “Lewis! Lewis I have a gift for you.” Toto sung as he dragged an ever scrappy Seb towards Lewis. He ignored Fernando who he was currently chasing as a grin came over his face. Seb really began to struggle against Toto’s bear hug.

“TOTO DON’T YOU DARE! LET ME GO!” Seb shouted. But his plea fell on deaf ears as Lewis got closer and closer.

“Aww Seb what was that about me being bad at this game.” Lewis grinned as he got within striking distance of Seb. Toto let go of Seb and ran away. Seb tried to chase after him but Lewis got him first. “TAG YOUR IT SEB!” Lewis shouted as he skipped away to a base.

“No way. That’s cheating!” Seb argued. He looked around to see Toto and Susie poking their tongues out at him. “You cheated Toto!”

“Did not. That’s what you get for calling me a cootie head.” Toto smiled as he kissed to top of Susie’s head. The two ignored the wolf whistles from the others that came with the kiss. Thought very quickly went back to the game and teasing Seb.

“You can’t get me!” Esteban rather boldly proclaimed as he ran from one base to another. Seb groaned. Now he was going to get all these comments back.

“Serves you right Seb!” Lewis shouted at him before sprinting off with Jenson.

* * *

 

                The family settled down to dinner that evening with Franz, Carlos and Max joining them for a good old fashioned BBQ. They just about rounded all of their children up for food. Though they were disappointed they had to leave before they finished their game of British Bulldog. Christian thought this was probably a good thing. Bulldog always ended up with someone needing him to get out the first aid kit. Currently the two families were busy tucking into the meat the adults had cooked on the BBQ. The conversation flowed around the camp table. However Seb would still not let the incident from earlier go.

“Lewis cheated!” Sebastian sulked.

“You had been teasing him pretty badly. He just got his revenge.” Tommi shrugged. Seb had been bugging him all evening with the same argument.

“He got Toto to help him cheat.” Seb pointed out for what felt like the hundredth time to Tommi.

“You were mean about him and his girlfriend Susie.” Heikki laughed.

“Claire will be so thrilled to hear those words.” Christian commented. Adrian and Franz gave a little chuckle from either side of him. However his comment went un noticed by the children who carried on arguing.

“I wasn’t mean. I just told Toto the truth.” Seb pointed out.

“Which was?” Antti asked.

“He was risking getting cooties from Susie.” Seb said.

“Seb!” Britta looked rather disapprovingly at her younger brother. She really thought he’d be beyond the whole ‘Girls have cooties’ stage by now.

“Sebby’s in twoble.” Max cooed next to Franz. Having issues saying the word trouble.

“He’s not in trouble munchkin. He’s just grumpy he lost a game.” Franz explained.

“Sebby’s a grumpy monkey.” Max laughed.

“I’m not!” Seb argued. Not that this deterred Max’s enthusiasm for talking.

“Grumpy monkey. Grumpy monkey. Guess who is a grumpy monkey.” He sung.

“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!” Seb shouted in retaliation to Max’s singing.

“Okay let’s stop the yelling now shall we.” Christian tried to bring some decorum back to the table. But it would be short lived. It always was when the kids were in this mood. Hyperactive and looking forward to racing.

“Who’s looking forward to tomorrow then?” Adrian asked the table of kids. A chorus of ‘ME!’ Went up around the boys.

“I’m going to win.” Seb grinned, forgetting about the fact he should have been sulking. He was confident he would win this race. After all he’d won around Silverstone before.

“No way Seb. This time I’m winning.” Dan argued. A swagger of confidence coming from him.

“You’re both wrong because I’m actually going to win.” Jev smiled. What he had just a good a chance as the other boys.

“No way! Me and Carlos are going to beat you all!” Danni argued.

“Yeah!” Carlos agreed as he high fived Danni.

“Except I’m going to be first.” Danni added on.

“No way Danni!” Carlos argued back.

“I’m going to win!” Max cheered and Franz chuckled at the little boys enthusiasm.

“Aren’t you glad we’re not like that?” Heikki told Antti, and Tommi. Britta rolled her eyes at this statement. Knowing if this was ice hockey they would be just as bad.

“Riemu are going to lose their next hockey game.” She told them.

“No way!” Heikki shouted. Offended his sister could even think something like that.

“We’re going to win because we’re the best!” Tommi agreed as he high fived Heikki. Britta smiled as she felt she’d managed to prove her point.

“It’s so nice to have a family meal.” Adrian laughed next to Franz and Christian as they watched the table of squabbling kids.

* * *

 

                “Heikki stop stealing all the room!” Tommi moaned at his brother. The younger boy was currently kicking him off of their roll matt with his movement. The eight children had retired to their rather large tent to try to get some sleep. Though right now they were just arguing amongst themselves. Apart from Jev who seemed to fall right to sleep without any issue.

“It’s not my fault!” Heikki huffed as he sat up. “Danni’s fidgeting like some kind of worm!”

“I’m doing the cold sleeping bag dance Heikki.” Danni admitted as he still fidgeted next to Heikki.

“The what?” Seb asked. After all Danni’s fidgeting was affecting him as well.

“The cold sleeping bag dance. When you’re sleeping bag is cold you wiggle around to get warm.” Danni explained as if it was common knowledge.

“The cold sleeping bag dance. Why didn’t I think of that.” Heikki rolled his eyes as Danni finally settled down. “Done now?” He asked his younger brother.

“Yep.” Danni admitted.

“Good.” Heikki lied down once again. Moving over so Tommi could be back on their roll matt. There was silence for about thirty seconds before the next incident kicked off.

“Dan get your honey badgers tail out of my eye!” Antti argued.

“It’s not in your eye!” Dan rebutted as a frustrated groan could be heard.

“All of you shut up so I can go to sleep!” Britta shouted.

“Hey Britta do you want to shout louder. I don’t think Kimi heard you the other end of the campsite.” Seb told her.

“Don’t start on me Seb I just want to go to sleep so I’m ready for tomorrow.”

“Ready for what? Creative writing some more.” Tommi sniggered before he was wacked in the head with a pillow. “OW!”

“Don’t be mean about my writing Tommi.”

“Or what?” Britta hit Tommi with a pillow again.

“STOP IT!” He shouted as Britta carried on smacking him with a pillow. He just about managed to grab his before he hit her as well.

“Hey! Tommi stop moving about!” Heikki argued. He got hit with a pillow for his troubles.

“I’m cold again!” Danni announced before once again starting a cold sleeping bag dance.

“Danni stop it!” Heikki shouted as he and Seb pinned the boy down.

“Let me be free to wiggle you meanies!” Danni shouted. The arguments continued till the tent door opened and Adrian stuck his head in. A head torch illuminating the scene in front of him. Tommi and Britta stopped their pillow fight mid swing. Danni stopped wiggling while Heikki and Seb finally unpinned their brother.

“And why are you lot not asleep. You’ve got a big day tomorrow.” Adrian commented as Tommi and Britta settled back down again. “And you’re making more than enough noise to wake up the campsite.”

“We’re not.” Heikki argued, feeling rather bold. Adrian looked at him.

“You woke us up with your arguing!” A voice that sounded a lot like Jenson shouted from the next tent behind the kids. There was a pause before he spoke again. “No Kevin. Go back to sleep. We’re just telling the guys off for being loud.”

“Yes thank you for that Jenson.” Adrian shouted back.

“Jev slept through our arguing! And he’s in the tent with us!” Tommi shouted back at Jenson.

“Jev’s got superhuman sleeping abilities then!” Fernando replied having also been woken up by the shouting.

“HEY! Don’t you dare be mean about Jev!” Dan shouted back.

“Or what?” Fernando asked.

“Right. Bed time. All of you. That includes you as well Jenson and Fernando!” Adrian shouted to the two in the tent next door. “Night kids.”

“Night Dad.” The kids replied.

“Night Adrian!” Fernando and Jenson shouted out.

* * *

 

                The next day proved to be its usual madness. There was a test session on the track followed by qualifying. The kids didn’t do too badly. Lewis was able to pick up pole for the race tomorrow with Nico alongside him. But Seb was 3rd which he was thrilled about. Dan and Jev started 5th and 6th while Danni and Carlos started 8th and 9th. Max was a little further down the grid in 12th. But considering he was only three and this was his first race he was pretty happy with himself.

“Did you see how fast Lewis and Nico were? James definitely put some effort into improving their karts.” Adrian told Christian. A thought popped into Adrian’s mind. “Darling.”

“No. Not again. I still have nightmares about you ‘fixing’ that car when we first got together.” Christian had what could only be described as a horrific flashback look on his face.

“It wasn’t that bad.” Adrian tried to argue. But who was he kidding. It was pretty bad. He’d spent two months fixing up the old car in his spare time and then invited Christian out on a drive with him. Needless to say it didn’t end too well.

“If I remember rightly darling I put my back out pushing that car half a mile to the nearest garage with you.” Christian reminisced.

“So that’s a no then.” Adrian asked.

“That’s a no.” Christian agreed. Adrian sighed as the two returned to their camp.

* * *

 

                “Come on Boys!” Adrian cheered from the side-lines as he watched the race develop. He always found the karting races to be high energy. Though he knew the boys couldn’t hear his cheering he still did it. Much to the embarrassment of his other children. Not that Christian was any quieter. He could be just as loud when he wanted to.

“Come on Seb you can do it!” Christian shouted out as he sized up Kimi for an overtake. The young boy was ruthless and took the position off of Kimi after driving around the outside of him. Adrian and Christian leaped up from their seats cheering. While Tommi, Britta, Heikki and Antti hid their faces.

“They are so embarrassing.” Tommi muttered.

“If anyone asks we’re not with them.” Heikki muttered to the others. The others agreed as the chequered flag fell on the event. Nico actually managed to win the race after a spectacular overtake on Lewis. While Seb finished 3rd and picked up a trophy to add to his ever growing collection. Dan and Jev finished 6th and 7th having both dropped a place each. Danni and Carlos hung onto 8th and 9th place. While Max finished 10th and picked up the rookie of the race award.

“Congratulations to you all. I’m so proud of you!” Christian gave each of the boys a kiss as they come over to him. “And another trophy Sebby. Your trophy cabinet must be getting too full now.” Christian joked.

“It should be. He could always let us win some trophies instead.” Danni smiled.

“Nice try Danni but no way.” Seb grinned at him.

The campsite pack down was rapid. After all most families had work and school tomorrow so as soon as the race was done and the trophies handed out most family’s set about packing everything away till next camp. The kids helped as best they could and the family finished packing down in a relatively quick time. While Adrian and Christian packed up the final pieces into the car the children had to say goodbye to their friends.

“I’m going to miss you Carlos!” Danni sniffed as he hugged his friend.

“I’m going to miss you too Danni!” Carlos seemed just as emotional about leaving. Heikki looked on in confusion.

“Danni. Carlos is in your class. You’ll see him tomorrow.” Heikki pointed out.

“I’m still going to miss him!” Danni shouted. Heikki left the two to their hug.

“See you tomorrow Kimi.” Sebastian gave his best friend a hug.

“See you.” The Finnish boy replied back. Slightly alarmed by the hug Seb was giving him. Britta said her goodbyes to Susie and Max while Jev gave his fellow Frenchman Romain a hug goodbye. Dan went to say goodbye to Jenson, Fernando and Kevin, as well as to apologise for the noise they made that weekend. While Tommi and Antti joined in one last game of British bulldog with the other children who were yet to go home.

“Come on guys it’s time to go!” Christian shouted out once the car was finally packed up. One by one the kids returned to the car after their goodbyes. As they left the campsite the family waved goodbye to the assembled adults and kids. Once again the Silverstone karting weekend had been a success. “So” Christian spoke as he settled down in the passenger seat. “Did we all have a fun weekend?”


	6. A Bit Of A Misunderstanding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It feels like forever since I wrote a chapter for this story. I've seriously struggled with some impressive writers block with this story. But I was hit with a flash of inspiration for this chapter last night. And it wouldn't leave me till I wrote it. So I hope you all enjoy it. A huge thank you to the amazing turva_auto and super siriuslywinchester for your comments on the last chapter. This chapter is dedicated to the two of you for both kicking my butt over this story :D Thanks girls. I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Danni knew better than to listen into the conversation his dads were having. But they hadn’t spotted him peaking round the corner from the stairs. They looked to be in deep conversation with one another in the kitchen. Danni was going to ask Christian if he could listen to him read. But instead the young boy couldn’t help but listen in.

“Adrian darling, you can plead all you want. But we can’t have one.”

“Christian think about it.” Adrian begged.

“One that young. We’ll have to teach it everything. Toilet train it. Teach it how to play nicely with others. Git all its jabs and vaccinations so it doesn’t get sick. Plus there’s the practicality of bringing it into the house. Where will it sleep at night. In our room? And what happens when It gets older? It’ll get bigger. Much bugger.” Danni gasped. Were his das talking about adopting another child? Was he about to get a baby brother or sister? They sounded like a baby. After all that sounded like a lot of work for a child his age. Oh this could only be trouble! Adrian sighed before he grabbed out his phone. Entering the passcode he tapped the screen before showing Christian something. A soppy grin graced the face of Christian. “Oh it’s adorable!”

“Her name is Caramel.” Adrian explained. He was having a baby sister! Danni wasn’t surprised. It would be nice for Britta to have a girl to play with. “If we don’t get her today she’s off to a re homing centre.” Adrian explained. Christian looked between the phone and Adrian. His shoulders sagged eventually.

“How can I say no to a face so cute?” Christian admitted. Adrian gave a quiet cheer. “You need to pick up everything after work. Bed, toys, bowl, food.”

“I’ll get everything.” Adrian agreed. He was mirroring the soppy grin on Christian’s face. “It’s strange to be adding to our family again isn’t it?” Christian smiled at his partner.

“It’s wonderful. But this is the last one. We’ll tell the kids tonight okay.” Christian explained. Danni couldn’t believe what he was hearing. They weren’t telling anyone about Caramel till she turned up here tonight!

“Mums the word.” Adrian admitted as he gave Christian a tender kiss. Danni scampered away quietly. His head was filled with questions. Mostly about how Caramel would be. Would she be quiet or scream the house down? Would she be nice or a little demon baby? Would she like karting or would she get into another sport? But there was one question that kept plaguing Danni’s mind. And it was a simple one. Where did babies come from?

* * *

 

                Dan and Jev where in the middle of a great remote control car game when Danni came in.

“Hey Danni.” The boys greeted him as they finished the lap of their game. Dan sulked as Jev took the victory.

“Yes!” Jev cheered as he added a line on his tally. The tally actually stood in favour of Dan for wins at the moment. But only just. It was 25:21 to Dan. The boys looked up at Danni who had a confused look on his face. He’d been incredibly quiet since he came in.

“Something wrong Danni?” Dan asked. Danni was about to blurt out everything. About the conversation he overheard and how their new baby sister Caramel would be turning up this evening. But then he remembered Christian saying they weren’t about to tell the kids. And he didn’t want dad upset that he’d ruined Caramel’s surprise entrance. He decided to keep quiet about Caramel. But he still needed a question answered.

“Yeah. Dan. Do you know where babies come from?” Danni asked Dan. His face lit up.

“I do. When a daddy and a mummy love each other very much the storks in the sky see. And the storks decide to bring a baby to the mummy and daddy in the night. And they wake up the next morning to find the stork has delivered the baby.” Dan explained.

“Really?” Danni didn’t know storks were involved.

“Of course.” Dan smiled. However the smile began to disappear from his face though. “But sometimes the storks get it wrong. And although mummy and daddy love each other they don’t want a baby. So they give the baby to a home with other babies whose mummies and daddies didn’t want.” Dan mumbled. “But it’s okay! Because then a daddy and a daddy come along who love each other very much. And the storks see. So they let the baby go home with them and they become a family.” Dan perked up at the end.

“So babies come from storks.” Danni summarised.

“Yep. Isn’t that right Jev.” Dan told him.

“Well…” Jev looked unsure.

“What is it?” Danni asked.

“I thought babies came from the angels.” Jev told the pair. And then felt he had to explain himself. “When a mummy and daddy love each other the angels see. And grant them their prayers to have a baby. And then they get a baby.” Though Jev said the next bit in a whisper. “However the mummy and daddy get so happy from having the baby that they become happy angels. And unfortunately the baby goes to stay in a home with lots of other kids like that. But it’s okay. Because they watch from heaven and they make sure their baby only goes home with the best people. And it doesn’t matter if it’s a daddy and mummy. Or a mummy or mummy. Or a daddy and a daddy. As long as they love each other and the baby they can take them home.”

“So. Angels bring babies. And storks also bring babies.” Danni added. Now he was seriously confused. Would Caramel arrive by angel or stork?

“Why not ask someone else Danni. They may have a better idea.” Jev suggested.

“Okay. Thanks guys.” Danni ran off as Dan and Jev went back to their racing game.

* * *

 

                Seb, Antti and Heikki were in the middle of an intense game of go fish when Danni came into Antti and Heikki’s shared room. Their room was large and relatively tidy for them. Much like Dan and Jev they had bunk beds. The room was a deep blue colour with several posters on the wall of various football and hockey teams. Heikki had the top bunk where his penguin Sid could be seen looking over the top. While Antti had the bottom bunk.

“Want to join in Danni? You can always pick up seven cards.” Heikki suggested. After all they had only just started the game. It was tempting to join in but Danni had more important questions to ask.

“I’m okay. I just want to know. Where do we come from?” Danni asked.

“Well. You’re from Russia, Sebby is from Germany, and me and Antti are from Finland.” Heikki summarised.

“No. Not like that!” Danni shook his head and rephrased his question. “I mean. Were we brought by angels or storks?” The boys looked rather confused at him as they put down their cards.

“What?” Antti looked confused by the young boys questioning.

“I asked Jev and Dan where babies come from. Dan said storks bring them. But Jev said angels bring them. So which is right? Where do babies come from?” Danni asked. Heikki’s eyes went wide and he shifted a little in his seat. He knew where babies came from. But Danni was way too young to know that right now. Lucky for him Antti and Seb intervened.

“I don’t know. Dad and Dad just seem to bring you all home from somewhere.” Seb admitted. Danni’s shoulders sagged. Yet another answer to where babies came from.

“The baby shop.” Antti admitted.

“Where?” Danni was shocked. Were they buying Caramel from a baby shop?

“Like babies R us. They sell babies and you can buy them there.” Antti explained.

“So. Babies come from shops, angels, and storks.” Danni began to sulk. This was useless! Everyone was giving him different answers to the same question. Danni doubted anyone actually knew where babies came from. And it wouldn’t be long till Caramel would be in their life.

“Why don’t you go and ask Tommi.” Heikki suggested. Danni perked up at that suggestion. Tommi was the oldest. He would know where babies came from.

“Thanks for your help guys!” Danni announced as he ran off. The boys picked up their cards again.

“Wonder what that was all about?” Seb asked the pair.

“No idea. Got any twos Antti?” Heikki asked.

* * *

 

                “So Antti and Seb seem to agree babies come from the baby shop. But Jev said the angels bring them. And Dan said that storks bring them. So who’s right?” Danni asked. Tommi really wished he didn’t have to have this conversation with Danni. Danni was too young to know the truth about where babies came from. He swore he still had nightmares from ‘the talk’ with Christian and Adrian. “Come on Tommi. You must know.” Danni pleaded.

“Danni. I’m sorry. I’ve got some homework to do.” Tommi sighed. Danni’s shoulders drooped. So Tommi wasn’t about to help him with his questioning.

“Can’t it wait?” Danni asked.

“I’m afraid not buddy. It’s some tough maths questions. I’ve got an idea. Why don’t you go and ask Britta. She’ll know the answer.” Tommi assured the boy.

“Good idea. Thanks Tommi.” Danni ran off, shutting Tommi’s bedroom door behind him. Tommi grinned as he pulled out a handheld game’s device and when back to his hockey match. Britta could deal with Danni’s question. Danni ran up the stairs to Britta’s room and knocked on the door.

“Come in.” Britta answered. Danni entered the room to find Britta sitting at her desk. Hunched over the notepad she was writing in. She put her pen down as she finished her sentence before turning round and looking at Danni. “Hey Danni. What are you after?” She asked. Danni launched into a full detailed recount of his conversations this morning. He was beginning to feel like a broken record having repeated his story several times now to different people.

 “So who’s right? Antti and Seb, Dan, or Jev.” Danni finished his explanation.

“They’re all wrong Danni.” Britta sighed. “Babies don’t come from any of those places.”

“So where do they come from then?” Danni demanded. Britta took a moment.

“You’re a bit too young to know now Danni. But trust me. Our dads will tell you where babies come from when you’re old enough.” She explained. After all she and Heikki had got the talk from Adrian and Christian at the same time just after they turned ten.

“Really?” Danni was sceptical.

“Promise.” Britta smiled at her younger brother.

* * *

 

                After lunch Danni spent most of the time in his and Seb’s room. It was a large room. But unlike the others the boys slept in single beds. Three walls of the room were painted bright red. While the last wall was baby blue with a bright red race car on it. Danni sat there and made a list of everything baby caramel would need. His writing was shaky and the blue crayon letter’s weren’t always well sized. But he could read it and that was all that mattered. Caramel was going to need a lot of things. And as the time went by Danni got more and more worried about Caramel. How could they deal with a young baby in the house? They couldn’t. Danni also felt like sulking a bit. He was the youngest in the house. But now Caramel was going to be younger and she would be fussed over as the baby. What if they forgot all about him? He was still bad at some things. He was still learning how to tie his shoes. He couldn’t always get a drink to the table without a little bit spilling on the floor. He was useless at pouring milk in his cereal. But now Caramel was going to take up everyone’s attention. It wasn’t’ fair. And they didn’t even warn him. They were keeping it a secret.

“Kids. Dad just called. He’s on his way home. Can you all come into the kitchen?” Christian asked. Danni sighed. Caramel was on her way here then. And now Danni was seriously upset. He stomped downstairs and into the kitchen where the other kids were waiting. “And what’s up with you super Danni?” Christian asked. It was rare to see Danni in a bad mood. Normally he was one of the happiest kids of the bunch. But the boy just pulled out a seat and sat down with a huff.

“Danni. Are you okay?” Seb asked.

“No.” The boy sulked.

“Come on Danni. Tell your dad what’s wrong.” Christian asked. Danni knew Christian was going to be upset about him listening in this morning. But he wanted to say how he felt before Caramel turned up.

“I don’t want a little sister.” Danni grumbled.

“What makes you think you’re getting a little sister?” Christian asked the boy as he crossed the room.  He crouched down beside the boy, trying his best to understand what Danni was going on about.

“Daddy’s bringing Caramel home tonight. Our new little sister! You were talking to him this morning about her.” Danni argued. The kids in the kitchen went into shock. Were they really about to get a new sister!

“Danni. Danni darling it’s not what you think.” Christian reassured the boy. “You’re not getting a new baby sister.” It was at this point the front door clicked open and Adrian wandered in.

“Hello darling, hello kids.” Adrian shouted out. “I have a surprise for you.” He came into the kitchen carrying a very cute, very squirmy little ten week old Labrador puppy in his arms. He put down the carrier bag presumably full of things to take care of the dog. Danni looked up. That was Caramel! Caramel was a puppy!

“Danni. Kids. This is Caramel. The newest edition to our family.” Christian introduced the dog in Adrian’s arms who gave a bark. The dogs squirming had gotten too much and Adrian put her down. She rushed around the kitchen greeting everyone with excitable barks.

“We have a puppy!” Dan grinned as he gave Caramel a stroke.

“We do. A friend of mine at work had a dog that had puppies. And all of them were claimed but little Caramel here.” Adrian explained as Danni tried to get his head around this revelation. “Christian and I talked about it for a few days. I finally got him round to agreeing to get a puppy this morning.”

“We thought a dog would make a great pet for us all. And it would also teach you guys about responsibility as well.” Christian explained.  

“She’s cute.” Britta admitted. Giving Caramel a hug. The dog appreciated the fuss but was off towards Seb very quickly after.

“Though darling.  It turns out our conversation wasn’t so secret. Danni here overheard us.” Christian told his partner.

“Oh Danni. I‘m sorry Caramel wasn’t a surprise.” Adrian replied.

“She was. I thought Caramel was a baby sister.” Dani admitted as he got off his chair to give Caramel a welcome. The dog barked at the young boy and proceeded to lick him. Danni giggled in delight as he gave Caramel a hug. Adrian looked just as shocked as Christian had a few moments ago.

“Danni. Did you really think you were getting a baby sister without us telling you beforehand?” Christian asked.

“I thought you might.” Danni sighed as he took a seat again. Caramel resorted to chasing her tail for amusement for the moment.

“Danni. We would never introduce another child into the house without telling you.” Christian reassured him before looking over at Tommi. “Tommi. You’ve been our longest adopted child. Can you remember what happens every time we adopted one of your siblings?” Christian asked him.

“Before we even met the child you always made sure it was okay with us. And we got to see our new sibling before they came here. We went on a day out with them and they even stayed the night before you adopted them.” Tommi explained. “And if any of us at any point weren’t happy you didn’t adopt the child.”

“See Danni. I promise you now. We will never spring a new brother or sister on you without warning. Okay.” Christian told him.

“Okay.” Danni agreed as he gave Christian a hug.

“Besides. We have our hand full with all of you. There’s no way we could add another child now.” Adrian laughed.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are appreciated and are received with a little happy dance. Got a prompt you would like to see? Drop me a line and I'll do my best to include it. Hope you enjoyed the story and see you next time.


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